


We all make mistakes.

by rudbeckia



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Food, Kylux Cantina, M/M, Mistakes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-03 15:41:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14572203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rudbeckia/pseuds/rudbeckia
Summary: Various fics for Kylux Cantina on the theme of mistakes. I’m going to try to set these all in the same au where Ren and Hux are rival postdoc materials scientists vying for favour (and therefore funding).1. Eating something that someone else was saving (except Kylo Ren knowsexactlywhat he’s doing)2. Misunderstanding intentions (Kylo gets into Hux’s emails and finishes a particularly sensitive one for him)3. Spilling something (yes, they ARE going to have to strip off in the chemicals shower. Together. Health and safety y’know)4. Error 404 (Hux gets revenge for the events of chapter 2 but then he chickens out when he realises there are Consequences).5. Saying too much (Hux has a LOT of explaining to do)6. That mistake nearly cost us the battle (Ren thinks Snoke is spying on them so Hux suggests meeting later at Ren’s place. It does not go the way Ren thinks)





	1. Lunch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: eating something, not realising someone else was saving it  
> (But actually in this fic Kylo knows _exactly_ what he’s doing)

Professor Snoke brought his newest research assistant on a tour of the department.

Hux didn’t rate the new boy. He was large, walked with a bit of a stoop unlike himself—Hux liked to show off his full height unless Phasma, the lab manager, was around. He swore the woman wore platforms just to intimidate him. The new boy’s hair was a mess. He’d have to ask Phasma to have a word, maybe give him a pack of those paper hairnets in front of everyone. And he wasn’t wearing a suit. Hadn’t Snoke told him there was a dress code? Didn’t he know it was a professional research lab? Well then. Doctor Ren, or perhaps Mister Ren if he hadn’t graduated yet, would have to learn how it felt to be on the bottom rung of the ladder. And Hux decided he would be the one to see to it.

So Hux walked up once Snoke had escorted the new boy to a spare desk in the open-plan office and left him to settle in, and extended his hand.  
“Hi, welcome. I’m Doctor Armitage Hux, senior research assistant to Professor Snoke. And you are...?”  
The new boy looked Hux up and down _twice_ then smiled. “I’m _Doctor_ Kylo Ren, as you already know since the Prof told you I was coming in last week’s briefing. I’m here to get results where you have failed. Now, bring me up to date on your current progress.”  
He did not shake hands. For the rest of the morning, Hux pulled up his data and explained his research methodology in the most professionally clipped, annoyed manner he could muster, while Ren interrogated him on every tiny decision he had taken. Eventually Ren was satisfied that Hux had told him enough and stopped asking questions.

It was lunchtime and Hux grudgingly escorted Ren to the break room. Ren got coffee from the machine while Hux took his lunch from the fridge. He unwrapped his carefully labelled sandwich, folding the paper to use as a plate. He took out his can of diet soda, the one with his name written on in sharpie. He brought out a box from the local bakery, name written on already because they made it for him to order, containing his Monday cupcake (apple cinnamon crunch). He left the boiled egg (HUX written on the shell in thick pencil) and the purple chocolate bar (a “twirl”, HUX on a sticky label over the front) for later. Ren watched, drank his coffee and then slunk back to his desk.

Next day, Tuesday, Hux spent the morning poring over data and statistics of the latest simulations of his _Starkiller_ project while Ren yelled at the lab techs and almost broke the tensile testing rig. Hux went for lunch at 1pm exactly, as usual. He took out his wrapped sandwich and can of soda then reached for the cupcake box. As soon as he picked it up he knew there was something wrong. It was empty. Someone had eaten his cranorange.

On Wednesday, Hux went for his afternoon snack to find that his boiled egg was missing. Someone had left a few shards of shell on the shelf to taunt him.

On Thursday, Hux’s _Wispa_ bar was missing. He’d had it specially shipped from home so that was a blow and he was out of sorts all afternoon.

On Friday, everything looked fine until Hux unwrapped his avocado-bacon-chicken-salad-sub and saw that there was a huge bite missing. Just the idea that someone else’s mouth had been near it was enough to make Hux throw the rest in the trash. From the bite pattern, it had to be someone with a big mouth, he thought. Not Mitaka, too delicate. Not Phasma since she was vegan. Not Peavey because he hadn’t the balls for a move like that. There was only one person on Hux’s list of suspects. And he did have a big mouth.

It had to stop. But he thought about that big mouth some more. 

Hux was resourceful. He got in early on Monday and installed a security camera, carefully taped behind a grille near the ‘fridge, and paired it with his phone. It was motion activated. He’d be able to watch whenever anyone went near his lunch. At eleven thirty-six, his phone pinged. Hux watched as Doctor Kylo Fucking Ren took a can of soda from the fridge, opened it, took a few swigs and replaced it. Hux locked his computer and ran to the break room. He’d missed the culprit but, sure enough, his can of soda was half empty.

Hux seethed. He couldn’t run to Snoke with something as trivial as _Kylo Ren ate my packed lunch_. He couldn’t let on that he’d spied on colleagues. But he could exact revenge. It wasn’t too difficult—phenolphthalein indicator was easily available and had some non-lethal but biologically interesting and uncomfortable side effects if ingested. Hux came in early on Tuesday. He took a bottle from the chemical store and liberally laced his entire lunch before placing it in the ‘fridge. 

At twelve fifty-five, Kylo Ren asked Hux if he was coming for lunch. Hux replied that he was too busy and would eat later, but Ren insisted.  
“No, really,” he said. “I’m sorry I ate your lunches last week. It was childish of me. I bought you the sub-of-the-day and a donut to make up.”  
Hux sighed. “No really,” he said. “You go ahead and eat what you want. I don’t mind.”  
Kylo’s eyes focused on Hux, and Hux stared back. Kylo took a deep breath and sat in the chair opposite Hux’s desk.  
“I know what you did.”  
“So?” replied Hux. “I know what _you_ did.”  
“So we’re spying on each other?”  
“Looks that way.”  
“Fair,” said Kylo Ren with a shrug. “Tell you what. Let’s both skip lunch and go out for dinner instead.”  
“Dinner?” said Hux, raising an eyebrow.  
“Yes,” replied Ren. “You can choose where as long as you promise there’s no laxative in my food and I promise not to steal from your plate to piss you off. McDonalds or KFC should suit.”  
“I’m not eating that shit!” Hux huffed. “There’s a diner on the corner down towards the library. I’ll meet you there.”  
“Six?”  
“Six thirty.”

After dinner, Hux sat back and frowned at Kylo Ren. “So why’d you do it?”  
“To get your attention. I thought you’d go nuts after the muffin incident but you just grit your teeth and—“  
“Wait, you saw that?”  
“Yeah. I planted a camera in the duct above the microwave.”  
“Oh. Mine was in the grille next to the fridge.”  
“I thought you’d look there.”  
“You were right, I did.”  
Kylo and Hux looked at one another for a moment. The waiter coughed and poured the last of their wine. Hux looked away first. “We shouldn’t be enemies. We’re working towards the same goal.”  
“Right. Just in different ways,” agreed Kylo.  
“Perhaps if we understood each other better we’d...”  
“My place is real close.”  
“Okay.”  
Hux motioned at the waiter and Kylo paid for their food, muttering _it’s only fair._

On the walk to Ren’s apartment, Hux bumped into Ren a couple of times then took his hand when he didn’t move away.  
“You think this is a good idea?” Hux asked as they paused outside Ren’s building.  
Ren leaned in and kissed Hux.  
“No,” he said. “But I don’t care.”


	2. The Road to Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: misunderstanding intentions
> 
> Ren gets into Hux’s email account and makes some corrections. He thinks he’s helping.

Snoke’s research team rarely saw their professor. He delegated work to Ren and Hux and made it their job to see that his orders were carried out efficiently. This often led to clashes between the two, but in the first few months of their enforced cooperation none of their arguments had led to anything worse than smashed glassware and the destruction of a spare bench that Ren beat repeatedly with a sample of Hux’s innovative new alloy, formed into a long, slender bar for testing. The alloy was unharmed.

Sometimes, Professor Snoke handed down directives that were for only Hux or only Ren. For these projects, he summoned each alone to his office and swore them to secrecy. Sometimes the task he gave them was the same and, once they realised, they would find themselves in a race to get their results to Snoke’s inbox first, each slowed down by the subterfuge involved in trying to thwart the other’s progress.

On Monday Snoke had met with Hux at nine then Ren at nine thirty. Hux had sneered a sarcastic _good morning_ at Ren as they passed in the reception area. Now it was Friday and Ren had spied on Hux’s progress all week: casually passing through the lab when Hux was working, looking over Mitaka’s shoulder while he downloaded columns of numbers from the testing rigs, asking Unamo and Thanisson what equipment Hux had booked for the next few days. To his irritation he found out only that the existing lab staff were loyal to Hux. He’d need to be more direct. Over the months, Ren had gleaned all sorts of jigsaw pieces about Hux’s life and he thought he’d puzzled out his rival well enough. But even when encouraged, Hux did not talk about himself. Apart from that one time Ren had bought Hux dinner then taken him home for an awkward fumble and an embarrassed goodbye, they had barely spoken at all. 

So when Hux stretched, locked his computer and announced that he was going to the coffee shop for a break, Ren kept staring at his latest data file, suppressed his smile and nodded. Mitaka followed Hux out and the rest of the research staff were busy with labwork so Ren was left alone in the office. He waited only a minute before going over to Hux’s computer. 

_Password:_ millicent

Nothing happened except the fat dots that blanked out the letters vanished. Damnit. Hux probably used a stronger password than that.

 _Password:_ Mi11icent

Nothing.

 _Password:_ M!11!cent

Ren waited before pressing enter. Either he’d be in or the computer would lock down Hux’s account and he’d know someone had tried to guess his password. He decided it was worth the risk.

The screen blanked and Hux’s desktop reappeared. Ren pumped the air and hissed _yesss!_

But his triumph was short lived. He read the half-finished email on the screen, opened the attached document and sighed. It was a job application, and not a terribly well written one. Hux needed to do better than that if he was to make it as far as an interview. Ren skipped over the boring crap about post-11 schooling and read the supporting statement carefully twice, then got to work on Hux’s grammar, punctuation and penchant for overlong words. When he was done, he read it again then saved the file, reattached it to the email, finished the email with a convincing final sentence and hit send before he remembered that he was on someone else’s email account and on someone else’s computer, applying for someone else’s job.

In a brief flurry of panic, Ren shut down Hux’s computer completely then walked quickly to the maintenance room next to the lab and tripped the mains. With luck, by the time Hux had got back into his account, perhaps he’d have forgotten all about the email that should be sitting, unsent, in his drafts.

It was not Kylo Ren’s lucky day. Hux took all of thirty seconds after opening his mail account to realise something was wrong. Ren could tell from the shaking head, the face that had gone alabaster-white and the soft but distressed _Oh no, no, no, no. Oh no..._ that came from Hux’s lips. Ren looked over.  
“Something wrong? You lose data in the outage?”  
Hux looked up, then scowled and clicked his mouse a few times.  
“You.” He half rose and pointed. “You did this! YOU!”  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Ren stood and took a step back. Hux shook his head and beckoned.  
“Oh no. You can’t get out of this. Come here.” Ren did not move. Hux took a deep breath, clenched his fists and screamed. “COME. HERE. NOW!”  
Ren approached slowly with his hands out as if Hux was some wild creature that might suddenly pounce with claws and teeth. Hux rotated his computer screen. Ren deflated. There, in low-res but unmistakeable and timestamped, was Kylo Ren’s face.  
Hux glared. “I have a security feature that takes a photo every time someone attempts to log in to my computer. You will tell me what you did and then I will take you to Snoke and he’ll fire you.”  
“No,” replied Ren. “He won’t. I’ll say I guessed your password. You’re a security risk. He’ll fire you too.”  
For the first time since leaving Ren’s apartment in a pink-faced rush of flustered apologies, Hux looked uncertain. Ren sighed. “I didn’t mean any harm by it. Can we talk?” He gestured at the door. “Somewhere else?”

Hux closed down his computer, shouldered his bag and walked out. Ren followed. They took the elevator in silence, walked side by side in silence with their eyes facing front, and didn’t stop until they reached a small, square, fenced-off park with blooming rhododendrons around the perimeter and and a modest fountain in the middle. Hux chose a vacant bench. Ren sat beside him.  
“What did you do?” said Hux. “I mean, I know. But I want to hear it from you.”  
“I only meant to take a look at your data. You’d’ve done the same.”  
“True,” admitted Hux, “but irrelevant. I’d’ve stopped short of tinkering with personal emails.”  
Ren suspected this was a lie but he let it go. “I saw that you were applying for a post with Empire Engineering. I read your application and it sucked.”  
“So you sent it?” Hux angled his head to look at Ren. Ren glanced back but Hux’s expression was strange: calm yet eager.  
“Not exactly,” said Ren. “I corrected the grammar and made it readable first. Hux, you’d never have gotten an interview with the—”  
“THAT WAS THE KARKING POINT!” 

Hux stood up and turned to face Ren. Ren wondered if the move was to make space for his arms to wave around while he yelled some more. Ren waited it out: Hux’s tempers flashed like lightning and were gone. Sure enough, after about a minute Hux sat down again with his face in his hands. Ren frowned.  
“So... you don’t want that job with Empire?”  
“No,” said Hux, voice muffled through his hands. “It’s my father’s company. He wants me to _go in at the bottom and work my way up_ and I have no intention of working under his control. He gets pissy if I don’t respond to the job adverts he sends me. Says I’m not working hard enough. Says I’m no good at my research and I’ll never make anything of myself.”  
“Huh,” said Ren. “Sounds like a dick.”  
“And you ruined it. I read what you wrote and it’s good! I’ll get an interview and I’ll have to—“  
“Hux, shut up.” Ren patted Hux’s shoulder. “I can put this right.”  
“How?” Hux looked round. Ren thought he had never seen a more miserable face.  
“Well,” he said, smiling. “I’ll coach you on how to fail an interview. You’ll be out of there in five minutes.”


	3. Health and Safety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux and Ren need the same solvent for their lab work. There’s only one bottle. They can share, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Spilling something

Hux paced behind Ren’s lab area, pushing his wraparound safety glasses back up his nose from time to time. “Aren’t you finished with that solvent yet?” he asked, snapping the words out in irritation. “It’s been hours!”  
“No,” replied Ren, adjusting the band of his goggles where his hair had caught in the elastic. “I need it. Go get your own bottle.”  
“I can’t,” said Hux. “You signed for the last bottle, and you know it. Come on, hand it over.”  
“No!” Ren pushed the bottle out of reach. “I’m using it.”  
“You are not!” Hux protested. “You’re just stopping me from having it, you selfish prick. Give it to me!”  
“No!”

Hux leaned over Ren’s back, a hand on his shoulder to weigh him down, and grabbed the plastic bottle. At the same time, Ren lunged forward and grabbed at it too. The two men straightened up, each pulling at the bottle with both hands. They tussled back and forth, gripping tighter and tighter, trying to force the other to release the prize until the bottle cap shot up and hit the ceiling tiles and the precious solvent spurted out in an arc of toxic, irritant droplets and spattered down on them both.

“Crap!” said Ren.  
“Damnit!” said Hux.  
“GET IN THE KARKING EMERGENCY SHOWER BEFORE I HOSE YOU ARSEHOLES DOWN WHERE YOU ARE!” yelled Phasma, the lab manager.

The emergency shower was a tiled area on a slight slope with a drain set into the floor and a chromed steel shower head slotted into a holder set into the wall. There had once been a curtain that could be pulled around it but that had been missing for at least a year and nobody thought it important enough to replace. Until now. Hux saw the look of horror on Ren’s face and decided to be the one in charge.  
“You go first. You got the worst of it,” he said. “Better strip off.”  
To Hux’s surprise, Ren undressed quickly and without comment, and ducked under the shower, facing the corner and flinching a little as cold water pounded his bare skin.  
Phasma strode over, pointing at Hux. “And you. Strip.” Hux glared at Phasma, but she promised _I’ll revoke your lab access code unless you get in that kriffing shower right now._ He wriggled out of his clothes and stepped onto the tiled area beside Ren. Ren detached the shower from the wall bracket and sprayed Hux. Hux shrieked. Phasma laughed.  
“I’ll get you two clowns something to wear,” she said. “Make sure to scrub each other clean.”

“I’ll do you and you do me,” said Hux, taking the shower from Ren. Phasma left the lab, biting her lip and shaking her head. Over the next few minutes Hux and Ren took turns rinsing each other thoroughly while, one by one, the rest of the lab staff walked in, apologised and walked out again. From the corridor outside the lab came the distinct sound of laughter. Hux scowled at the door.  
“I will be on all their snapagram, facetube and instachat accounts later,” he said loudly enough that their audience would hear, “and if there is any sign of this being shared I swear I will have them fired for infringement of the lab confidentiality clause in all our contracts.”  
Ren looked at Hux, eyebrows raised. “There’s a lab confidentiality clause?”  
Hux shrugged. “Who cares as long as _they_ all think there is?”

Ren laughed. He took the shower back from Hux and slotted it onto its bracket. “Turn around,” he said. “I’ll check you out and you can check me out.” Hux stared. “For any trace of that solvent or whatever,” explained Ren. Hux sighed. He rotated slowly when Ren directed him.  
“The water is a bit on the chilly side,” he said as he faced Ren and Ren’s eyes drifted south. “Your turn.”  
Ren allowed Hux to scrutinise every square inch of his skin then turned the shower off when Hux declared him to be free of any sign of contamination. Hux shivered. Ren brushed a finger lightly over the gooseflesh of Hux’s arm. “You’re cold,” he said.  
“I’m karking freezing and we can’t put those back on,” said Hux, pointing to the two piles of contaminated clothing on the floor.  
Ren wrapped his arms around Hux and pulled him into a hug. Hux wriggled then gave in and stood still.  
“Ren, this is ridiculous.”  
“I know. Phasma’s going to laugh her head off.”  
“Think she’ll be long?”  
“Hmm, not long enough.”  
“What the kriff does that mean?”  
“Nothing!” Ren released Hux and stepped out of the shower area. At that moment, Phasma returned with two clean, white lab-coats.  
“Best I could do,” she said. “I sent Mitaka to get you something you can wear to go home without getting arrested for indecency. Now, you two are banned from the lab until you complete a lab safety webinar.” She grinned at Hux.  
Hux groaned. “Oh no.”  
“What’s wrong?” asked Ren. “It’ll be a couple of hours in front of a screen. How hard can it be? Come to my place and we can do it there.”

An hour later, Ren and Hux sat in Ren’s apartment with Ren’s iPad propped up in front of them, still wearing the budget tracksuits and plimsols Mitaka had bought from the store nearest the lab. “Ready?” asked Ren.  
Hux nodded and covered his face. “Go on,” he said. “Let’s get this over with.”  
Ren tapped the thumbnail for _Chemical Spill Emergency Procedure_ and the window expanded to fill the screen. Ren hooted with laughter, paused playback and turned on his enormous TV.  
“Okay. We’re gonna need the big screen.”  
Hux cringed. “Fine. Just... shut up. Before you even say anything. Shut up in advance.”

_”Welcome to First Order Laboratories mandatory health and safety training programme. My name is Doctor Armitage Hux and I am your instructor.”_


	4. File not found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux wants a look at Ren’s latest data. Unfortunately he doesn’t know the difference between _copy_ and _move._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prompt: error 404

Ren had been busy in the lab all week despite Phasma having banned both Ren and Hux from signing any chemicals out of the store. Hux had his methods: a kind word or two and a coffee date was all it took to have his supply restored under Mitaka’s signature. Ren simply helped himself to Hux’s solvents and reagents whenever he needed anything. Hux did not argue for fear of attracting Phasma’s attention. Ren logged his results on his lab laptop (Hux refused to refer to it as his _labtop_ like everyone else did) and usually spent an hour or so at the end of the day writing up the day’s entry properly in his secure, electronic lab book.

Hux had a similar routine. But today was different. Ren had an appointment with Professor Snoke at the end of the day and Hux was alone in the office since Mitaka was making good on his promise to fetch coffee from the new place across the street. Hux peeled a post-it note off his pad, got up and walked around the back of Ren’s computer. He stuck the note over the aperture of the webcam set above Ren’s screen and got to work.

_Password:_

Hux frowned. He’d watched Ren type his password a few times but it still hurt to type it.

_Password:_ Hux-is-an-assh0le

The screen faded from black to blue as Ren’s desktop icons appeared. Hux plugged in his USB memory drive, then clicked and dragged Ren’s data folder across.

_Moving 1027 files. Estimated time remaining 30s_

The progress bar crept across the window and Hux eyed the door. Sometimes meetings with Snoke were long, tedious affairs where he wanted all the minute details of their work. Sometimes they were short, sharp and shocking.

_Moving 782 files. Estimated time remaining 17h_

Hux rolled his eyes. 

_Moving 529 files. Estimated time remaining 2m14s_

Hux put his hand near the USB drive, ready to snatch his memory stick, and tensed his legs ready to scarper if the door opened.

_Moving 261 files. Estimated time remaining 8 days_

He sat back. If he was caught he’d find an excuse. Thought there was a virus. Security breach. Something. Anything.

_Moving 38 files. Estimated time remaining 12s_

_move complete_

Hux ejected his memory stick, logged Ren off and returned to his own desk just as Mitaka arrived with two cardboard cups and a smile. “Here,” said Mitaka holding out a bank card. “Thanks for the loan. Can’t believe I forgot my wallet.”  
Hux took his card and one of the cups then made polite conversation with Mitaka while they drank. Mitaka left at six. Hux got up and reached over Ren’s computer from behind to peel the post-it note off Ren’s webcam. He pocketed the USB drive, packed his things and went home.

Next morning, Hux woke early. He’d spent the previous evening with a glass or two of wine, his cat purring in his lap, _Deep Space 9_ on the telly and Ren’s data files on his laptop. Ren was working on a totally separate project from his _Starkiller_ alloy. He hadn’t understood all of it, but it was clear that they were not, for the moment, rivals. Hux fed his cat, scratching her ginger head and murmuring that she was a very good girl, made extra coffee to drink as he got dressed, and went to work with a smile.

His smile dropped as soon as he entered the office. Phasma stood with her arms crossed, glaring at Ren. Mitaka sat at his workstation in the corner, trying to look even more insignificant than usual. Unamo and Thanisson were nowhere to be seen. Ren stood glaring back at Phasma but when he spoke there was a hint of desperation in his voice.  
“Phas, just let me see the security feed from yesterday,” he pleaded. “And the log of who swiped in and out. I have to know which bastard did this.”  
Phasma shook her head. “I’ll check for you,” she said. “But if you ever accuse one of my lab techs of sabotage again, I will cancel your keycard. Good lab techs are rare.”   
Phasma turned and left. Hux settled at his desk. “Something happen?’ he asked. Ren snarled and swiped the pen pot off Hux’s desk, scattering its contents over the floor.  
“Like you wouldn’t know,” he said. “Someone hacked into my account and deleted all my data files last night. Come to think of it, Armitage, what time did _you_ leave last night?”  
“Well, _Kylo,”_ said Hux, face reddening and voice sharp to hide the hot tremor of fear, “I stayed until five thirty as usual then went home. Do you need proof? Want to see evidence that I was buying coffee at five forty-five?”  
Mitaka’s head came up, eyebrows high and mouth open. Hux looked over and shook his head once.   
“No,” said Ren, misery radiating from his slumped shoulders and downcast face. “I just... I lost so much data. The IT manager can restore some of it but the most recent backup was Friday.” Ren landed heavily on his chair. “It’s a disaster. I’m supposed to be presenting my latest results to Snoke and a couple of his backers before lunch.”

Ren’s head found his hands and his elbows found the desk and he sat forward with his face hidden. Hux tapped at his phone screen and a few seconds later Mitaka received a message.  
 _Explain later get ren out for 30_  
Mitaka stood up and walked slowly over to Ren. “Um, Doctor Ren? Kylo?” he said. “I know one of the IT guys quite well. Want to come with me and we’ll see what they can find out for you? I’d go alone but they’ll need your passwords and stuff.”   
Ren stood up, accidentally pushing his chair over, and followed Mitaka out. The instant the door closed, Hux sprang up and bounded over to Ren’s computer. Ren was still logged in. He slotted his USB drive into place and copied the entire folder of Ren’s work onto the desktop. While he waited for the progress bar to fill across, Hux paced back and forwards. As soon as it finished, he removed his memory drive, logged Ren out, righted Ren’s chair and went back to his own desk.

Ren came back without Mitaka and stared at his screen.  
Hux affected a bored voice. “Your computer did a thing. Like, shut down and restarted and did some updates or something.” Ren’s fingers flew over the keyboard. He stared at the screen, frowned, clicked his mouse a few times then sagged in relief. “Is it okay?” asked Hux.   
“It’s all here, Hux,” said Ren. “All of it. Not in the same place but it’s here.”  
“Well then,” said Hux, brightly. “You had better get on with your presentation for Snoke.”  
Ren looked over at Hux. “I will. And after, we... we need to talk.”  
“Oh?” said Hux, staring at his own screen and pretending to type. “What about?”  
Suddenly Hux’s chair swivelled and Ren was in his face.  
“About how Mitaka bought coffee with your bank card and brought it to you here, then left you alone in the office. About how you told Mitaka to get me out of the office and magically my files are there—in a folder called _Ren’s shitty data.”_ Ren grimaced, blinked and looked away then walked back to his computer. He looked over at Hux with his face set hard, and said, “I think we have _plenty_ to talk about. And you better have a good story for me.”


	5. Really Saying Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren wants to know why Hux deleted then replaced his data files. Hux makes an accidental confession.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: saying too much

“Mitaka’s not speaking to you ever again,” said Ren as he dragged over a lab stool and perched opposite Hux’s bench. “He said to tell you he wants to transfer to my team because you’re a liar and a terrible person and you can fetch your own coffee from now on. I agree with him. I hate you.”  
A little afraid of which words might come out if he spoke, Hux shrugged and got on with the painstaking task of preparing his alloy samples for the transmission electron microscope.  
“You’re not going to argue about it? No _I hate you too_? That’s not like you at all.” Ren leaned closer, watched for a few seconds and pointed at one of the tiny, silvery disks. “That one’s way too thick.”  
“I know. Shut up. Let me work.” Hux pulled the magnifier across and peered through it at the too-thick alloy disk. _I don’t want to be like me today,_ he wanted to say. _I don’t want to be me any more. I want to be someone you can like. Respect. Want to spend time with. That’s never going to happen. Go away and stop torturing me. I don’t deserve to have you talking to me like everything’s normal._

Instead of saying any of what he thought and felt, Hux stared through the magnifier and picked up another of his alloy disks. Ren leaned closer, close enough that Hux could feel his breathing. Ren spoke quietly. “I thought I’d come and tell you that my presentation went well. Snoke’s backers are discussing how much funding I’ll get to develop my piezoelectric nanocoatings. So, no harm done.” Ren stood up and pushed his stool back into place with his foot. “I still want to know why you did it. You could have got me out of your way—let me get fired for embarrassing him in front of his sponsors. But you didn’t.”  
Hux put down his fine-pointed forceps and pushed the magnifier out of the way. He glanced up at Ren. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.” He tidied away his sample case and stood up too. “I only wanted to see what you were working on.”  
Ren shook his head and sighed. “Did it never occur to you,” he said, “to ask me?”

It really hadn’t. Hux guarded his work carefully in case anyone else in the lab got to see the extent of his research and he assumed everyone else felt the same way about their own projects. Professor Snoke actively discouraged his separate research teams from talking with each other about their petty setbacks and uncertain progress, preferring only to have his teams dazzle each other with stunning reveals of brilliant results. He watched Ren walk to the door.  
“Kylo!”  
Ren turned. “Armitage?”  
“Would you... Wait. I want to apologise. Would you—“  
“I’m not ready for that,” snapped Ren. “I want an explanation before I decide whether or not to listen to an apology.” Ren walked back into Hux’s space. “You’ve been acting hot and cold around me since the day I arrived. Since I started working here I thought you were trying to get rid of me. Today I thought you’d won and ruined my career but you... I don’t understand you at all. What were you trying to do? Show me that you _could_ finish me?”  
“I made a mistake! I never meant... I don’t want rid of you! I want you!” Hux’s hand covered the _oh shit_ that followed his confession. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Ren frowned. “To stay, I mean,” said Hux, “I want you to stay. I don’t know what this stupid feeling is but you... you confuse me. I want to... to... but I don’t know if that’s what you want and I don’t know how... how to be that person.”  
“Well,” said Ren, eyes open wide. “Shit.”  
Ren touched Hux’s arm but the lab door creaked open and Hux flinched. Ren backed off. “Okay,” he said quietly enough that the lab techs wouldn’t hear. “We definitely need to talk somewhere that isn’t here. Get your things. I’ll meet you outside in ten minutes.” 

Out on the street, Ren leaned on a lamp post and watched the door until Hux emerged then waited for Hux to stop an arm’s length away. He smiled, but Hux wouldn’t make eye contact. “I’m hungry,” said Ren. “I know a good place near here. You’re paying. Consider it part of your apology.”  
Hux nodded and fell into step beside Ren, registering the hint that Ren had already forgiven him. “You probably think I’m an idiot,” he said, after a few minutes. “And you could report me to Snoke. Mitaka would back you up and I’d be out.”  
“I think all kinds of things about you,” replied Ren. “Can’t you take a hint? I don’t want to get you fired. I like you, you asshole. Here’s the place.”  
It was a small diner with red vinyl booths and a long, stainless steel bar. Ren chose a booth and Hux sat opposite him. Ren ordered from the wipe-clean menu while Hux stared out of the window.  
“So,” said Ren as soon as their server had gone. “What happened last night and today?”  
Hux hid his face in his hands. “Shit, Ren, I only wanted to see your data files. I logged onto your computer with your password and dragged your data folder onto my USB drive. I didn’t mean to delete anything.”  
“O-o-oh!” Ren’s face softened and he huffed out a laugh. “You need to right-click and say _copy_ and _paste_ or the computer moves the file location! You really only wanted to see my data files?”  
Hux nodded. “I was worried that you never say anything about your work and—”  
“Neither do you!”  
“I know. I thought Snoke might have set us up in competition. I wanted to see if you were ahead of me.”  
“That’s reasonable. He’s an evil old buzzard. What did you find out?”  
Hux shrugged. “That we are working on separate projects. I’m to develop a superplastic alloy and you’re working on—“  
“Force sensitive coatings.”  
“Yes.” Hux looked across at Ren at last. “I told Mitaka to get you out of the office and I put your files back as soon as I realised how serious it was.”  
“So it was a mistake,” said Ren. “And you tried to put it right in your own twisted way.”  
Hux looked out of the window again. “Yes,” he said, barely audible.  
“In that case,” said Ren, reaching over to touch Hux on the jaw and make him look at him again. “I’m ready to accept an apology.”  
“I’m s—“  
“Oh, no. Not in words. It’s not going to be that easy! You’re going to have to do something big.” Ren smiled.  
“How big?” asked Hux, frowning over the mountain of fries that Ren had ordered.  
Ren leaned forward and grinned. “I want us to collaborate on something.”  
Hux took one of Ren’s fries. Ren pushed the plate forward so it sat halfway between them.  
“That’s going to be difficult,” said Hux. “If Snoke finds out we’re siphoning off funds to work on a side-project he’ll fire us both.”  
“True,” said Ren. “That’s why we can’t talk about it in front of anyone. Let’s eat then go back to my place and come up with a plan.”


	6. A matter of size

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren and Hux can’t talk in the office in case they’re overheard. Where better to ge instead than Ren’s place?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prompt: That mistake nearly cost us the battle

After his progress review with Snoke, Hux walked into the office and sat down without comment, as usual. Ren resisted the urge to look up, raise an eyebrow, ask: _how did it go?_ Ren felt Hux’s attention on him and glanced up. Although he was looking at his screen again, Hux’s lips formed a brief smile and Ren grinned.  
“Mitaka?” said Ren. “Could you—“  
“I’m not fetching anyone’s coffee,” snapped Mitaka from his workstation in the corner. “If you need me out of the office for ten minutes just say so.”  
Hux gave Mitaka his sweetest smile and spoke in his most saccharine tone. “Could you please send me your phase two budget proposals for starkiller alloy production and testing?”  
Mitaka stared, mouth dropping open for a second. “You mean... you mean we got green lit?”  
Armitage nodded once. “Congratulations. You get another year’s employment. Is that long enough for you to finish your thesis?”  
“I hope so,” said Mitaka. “I think I made a breakthrough with the gamma phase alloy but stabilising the—“  
“Don’t care,” said Hux. “Kindly bugger off for ten minutes.”

Once Mitaka had gone, Hux and Ren met each other in the space between their desks and stopped, neither wanting to be the first to make a more intimate move.  
“Snoke was impressed with the mechanical and physical properties so far. It’s light but strong and easily formed by pressing. He won’t say who’s funding the project but they want the properties tweaked a bit to use in high-impact casings.” Hux sighed. “There should be enough in the budget for—“  
Ren clamped his hand over Hux’s mouth. Hux leapt back and slapped his hand away, cheeks pink and eyes glaring. “What did you do that for?” he demanded.  
Ren shook his head and put a finger over his lips. “I don’t want to hear your crowing,” he said, loudly, and walked out. Hux followed, trotting down the corridor to catch up. Ren vanished into the restrooms. Hux rolled his eyes and followed.  
“What the fuck, Ren?”  
“I think he listens in to office chat,” said Ren. “He knew about our discussion last night about how much of my budget I could allocated for _lab sundries and consumables_ without looking suspicious. We can’t talk in the office or the lab. Another mistake like that could cost us all the battle for funding.”  
“Shit.” Hux pushed a hand through his hair. “Okay. Your place later?”  
“Yeah,” said Ren with a slow smile.  
“For work, Kylo.” Hux leaned against Ren and kissed him.  
“You’re all work and no play,” said Ren, hands on Hux’s ass. “Stay over. Whisper to me all night long about annealing and tempering and,” he kissed Hux, “...quenching.”  
Hux swatted lightly at Ren’s head. “Fuck you, Kylo.”  
Ren laughed. “If you want.”  
As soon as Ren left the restroom, Mitaka emerged, red-faced, from his stall. 

 

Ren answered the door. Hux came in carrying his bag and a pizza box. Ren _oooh_ -ed in delight. “I think I love you,” he said, opening the pizza box and taking a slice.  
“Sure you do,” said Hux. “My cat’s just the same when I feed her. As soon as you’re fed you’ll go sit in the middle of the rug, lick your arse and wait for adulation.”  
Ren laughed. “You have to go home to look after her, don’t you?” he asked. “Like last time. And the time before.”  
“Actually,” said Hux, “tonight I don’t. Mitaka’s staying over with her.”  
“Mitaka?”  
“Yes,” said Hux. “He was in the restroom earlier. He thought you were talking about him eavesdropping on us so he apologised for accidentally listening to us around the lab and in the restroom and asked if there was anything he could do to make amends. Turns out he likes cats, hates his room mates and wants in on our side-project. He’d be useful.”  
“He’s your assistant. Can you trust him?” Ren frowned. Hux shrugged and nodded. “So you can stay?” added Ren with a hint of a smile.  
“Would you rather I didn’t?” asked Hux. “Because I could go home and sleep with Mitaka instead. I think he’d be surprised but—“  
“No!” Ren laughed. “I want you to stay. But no pressure, okay?”  
“What do you mean?” Hux chose a slice of pizza and sat on Ren’s sofa. Ren brought the pizza box over and joined him.  
“I mean...” Ren chose a second slice. “First time you came here with me you seemed keen but we made out a bit and you left suddenly. Second time we laughed at that terrible training video, made out a bit and you left suddenly. I’m just saying if all you want is to make out a bit, that’s okay. You don’t have to bolt.”

Hux thought for a minute. “I suppose I did leave suddenly. Hmm. I was worried that you’d want too much from me. I’m not really like that.”  
“Like what?”  
Hux sighed. “I’m not a fast mover. I need to get used to you before I’ll want... anything.”  
“Can’t you even _say_ ‘sex’?” asked Ren. “From the way you were rubbing yourself on me in the restroom earlier I thought you wanted—”  
“Maybe this is a mistake,” said Hux, shuffling forward on the sofa as if to get up. Ren took his hand and held on.  
“Stay,” he said. “Please.”  
Hux made a face and reached for more pizza as a distraction from talking. Ren pushed the box away. “Look, I said if you don’t want to do any more than make out, that’s okay. I can share a bed without forgetting my manners, or if you want I’ll take the sofa tonight. Armitage, I like you and that means I want you to be comfortable around me.” Ren sighed. “Just tell me what you want.”  
“I don’t know what I want,” said Hux, staring at the out-of-reach pizza box.  
“Then tell me what you don’t want,” said Ren, stroking Hux’s back. “I need to know.”  
Hux sighed. “Well then. I don’t want you to get me off tonight. If you want, I’m okay with giving you a blow job if you promise to warn me when you’re close, or wear one of those flavoured condoms because I swear if you come in my mouth I’ll vomit.”  
“How romantic!” Ren made a soppy face. “Please, do go on, darling.”  
“Fuck off,” said Hux, but he smiled. “Do you want that blow job or not?”  
“No,” said Ren with a laugh and a shake of his head. “I don’t know you well enough for that.” He pulled the pizza box closer. “Honestly, I planned our third date to involve some work talk then maybe a movie.”  
“I’ve never had a third date,” said Hux as he reached for his pizza. “What’s it like?”  
“This,” said Ren with a shrug. “Now, let’s compare sizes. You show me your budget and I’ll show you mine. Bet mine’s bigger.”  
“It’s not the size,” said Hux with a snigger. “It’s what you do with it that matters.”


End file.
